Al Qaeda Is Still A Threat

A Decade Later, Al-Qaeda Threat Real -- Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, The Diplomat

Al-Qaeda has had a difficult year with the loss of bin Laden and other senior leaders. But discounting it as a threat would be dangerously premature.

Al-Qaeda has had a tough year. Since the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, the organisation has suffered a series of setbacks. On June 25, Ibrahim al Afghani, a senior terrorist belonging to Somalia-based al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab, was killed in a drone strike in southern Somalia. On July 5, Saifullah, a 50-year-old Australian described as a key aide to bin Laden, was reportedly killed in a drone attack in Pakistan’s North Waziristan. On August 22, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, al-Qaeda’s number two, was killed in another CIA drone attack in Pakistan. Then, on September 5, Pakistan announced the arrest of Younis al Mauritani, a senior al-Qaeda leader suspected of directing attacks against the United States, Europe and Australia.

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My Comment: Al Qaeda was always about an interpretation of Islam (a radical Sunni version of Islam) .... never about the founders or their supporters. So even though Bin Laden is dead, Al Qaeda's philosophy and methods of operations still exist .... and more to the point .... the supporters and sympathizers of Al Qaeda still number in the millions.